Matthew Hunter finds drones measure up

Matthew Hunter has bought into Measure Australia, which describes itself as a "drones as a service" company, providing aerial imaging services to the real estate, insurance, and agricultural and infrastructure sectors.

Hunter has bought into Measure Australia, which describes itself as a "drones as a service" company, providing aerial imaging services to the real estate, insurance, and agricultural and infrastructure sectors.

Drones are becoming an important safety and cost-cutting tool as they are increasingly used as a replacement for labour in areas such as maintenance and monitoring. One example is maintenance on assets such as telecommunications towers - instead of sending a worker up to do checks, a drone can simply zoom up and down at a fraction of the cost and time.

Mining companies are also using drones to monitor their operations, while the agricultural sector is looking at early-stage applications to help improve the management of farms.